I have always refused to eat cake starting with my own birthday cake at an early age. However I don’t mind in the least munching on left-over crumbs. Also, whipped cream comes under the same heading as inedible but ice cream is fine!? Go figure.

Do you like Fried Rice and Spam?
Would you? Could you? In a wok?
Would you like them gently tossed?
Would you like them with fish sauce?
Would you like them cut up silly?
Would you like them with fried chilli?
Would you eat ‘em with a spork?
Would you eat ‘em with with roast pork?
You may like them, they’re not obscene
You may like them in chow mien.
Eat them! Eat them! There they are!
Eat them! Eat them! Be a Spam superstar!

And most people I know love it. I just…ewww. I have never liked it and I never will like it. And cheese is my favorite food even. The very most I can get past my lips is very mild gorgonzola. But it needs to be in something, I can’t just eat it on a cracker or something. Like in a sauce might be okay, as long as there were some other cheeses involved.

Everyone loves salmon. Even people who hate fish love salmon. It’s the “safe” entree on all menus, right next to the roasted chicken, the entree meant for the least adventurous diner in the group. I may be the only person on this earth who hates salmon. To clarify, I hate cooked salmon. I love it raw as in sushi or in ceviche. The moment it is heat cooked, it acquires an oily, pungent smell that I can sense from a mile away and it frankly makes me gag. I think I ate it too much as a kid – my Mom was a very busy lady when I was growing up. She would buy an entire side of salmon at Costco (and salmon are large, people), cook it and we would eat it for half the week. That sort of regiment could turn a person off ice cream, much less salmon.

There aren’t many foods I hate, but one foremost in my mind is marshmallows. Or, to be more precise, I hate marshmallows in their virgin state. I love them if they’re whipped into marshmallow fluff, or toasted on a stick over a fire, or (my favorite) used to make Rice Krispy squares, or melting on top of a great cup of hot chocolate. It’s the spongy marshmallows I hate with a passion. Great homemade marshmallows are slightly tolerable, but nothing I would ever crave.

As a child, I watched my friends eat those horrible neon-orange Hostess Snowballs. If forced to eat one, I always painstakingly peeled the offending marshmallow off and gave to my friends, leaving me the tiny ball of chocolate cake in the center. I’ve never met anyone who loathes virgin marshmallows as much as me.

There’s something about the texture of the virgin marshmallows that offends me. I also hate soft meringue, which has always been quite inconvenient because many of my relatives are master lemon meringue pie bakers. However, I LOVE Italian meringue. So, go figure!

Also, Peeps are the ultimate horror for me. Shudder. However, they toast beautifully, because of the sugar coating. :):) I never tried to toast a Snowballs.

Cauliflower! It’s one of only a very few things that are actually banned from my kitchen, and perhaps the only vegetable to be on my absolute-no-no list. Many friends and readers of The Perfect Pantry have tried to convince me that their cauliflower recipe is the one that will change my mind. I try — I really do. I take one bite of whatever it is — cauliflower baked with cheese, or stuffed with Indian spices, or pureed in soup. One bite is all it takes for my taste buds to remind me that I just can’t stand cauliflower.

I hate it. My mother breast fed me until I was 1 year old and I bit her. That was the end! She tried me with a bottle of cow’s milk and I refused to drink it. She spent all of my formative years trying to tempt me to drink it. Milk shakes: NO. Milk puddings: Yes as long as they were sweet.

When I started school, we had compulsory milk at morning break. The government trying to keep those post war babies healthy. Every semester she would have to write a note to the school so that I would be excused from this torture. One day they forced me and I promptly vomited it up on the floor. That fixed them.

BUT the good thing is that I love the byproducts…couldn’t do without cheese, yoghurt…love cream. Happy with béchamel sauces. Just don’t put it in a glass in front of me or even in my coffee, I might just bring it up again!!! No I wouldn’t I promise.

Anything mint! Mint is perfect for breath freshening. It does a great job in toothpastes and mouthwashes. When you are done with these tasks, you spit the product out (unless you are my husband who has been known to ingest toothpaste). Somehow this same flavor worthy only of doing a job and then being rinsed down the drain is eaten and enjoyed by most of the populace. Growing up, I most abhorred the tic-tac. It always came out on family car rides. I could hear the container making its distinctive soft clatter and I knew the entire vehicle would soon be overcome with its aroma. No thanks!

For me, I cannot stand green tea ice cream. I know, I know, shoot me now, everybody loves this stuff. I don’t know anyone else who doesn’t like green tea ice cream but that is one thing that I have tried to give a chance but just cannot abide by. Anything else green tea I can eat, green tea biscuits, cakes, sweets and even the tea itself, but hand it to me in ice cream form and you will see me recoil in disgust.

I will probably rue the day that I admit this publicly and incur the wrath of those who love all things green tea, but here it goes. Anything for the Monthly Mouthful!

It’s very weird, but I can’t stand the smell of regular oranges. I like clementines and satsumas, and I love the smells of other citrus fruit like grapefruit, lemon and lime, but when someone is eating a regular orange near me it makes me feel ill. Needless to say, I don’t like eating them either. I have a similar problem with freshly squeezed orange juice too. But the stuff from a carton or from frozen concentrate is fine! This is a fairly recent development though, so I wonder if something in my body chemistry has changed to bring this about.

Unfortunately, after wracking my brain, I cannot come up with any food that I really hate. However, there are foods that everyone loves that I never eat, never have the desire to eat and could go the rest of my life without tasting ever again – steak (though, strangely enough, I like carne asada burritos, tacos and quesadillas just fine), all *Americanized* pizza and ice cream. Yes, ice cream. I think it’s been 10 years or longer since I had any. I can’t even remember.

If you want to extend it to drinks though, I do hate soda, every single kind. I didn’t even like it when I was a kid. it always just made me more thirsty because of the aftertaste and made me feel gross. I drink tons of water instead though, so I guess my taste buds were just being smart. =P

Sugar-glazed donuts give me a tooth ache. Whenever someone brings a box of glazed donuts I try to remove the glaze before I eat it. Usually there is nothing left of the donut when I’m through peeling through the glaze.

Okay, don’t hate me but I don’t like chocolate. I know, right? Am I human?? I would much rather have something vanilla or coffee flavored than chocolate. That’s okay though, I have a husband that thinks chocolate is one of the 5 main food groups.

This is a difficult one for me, since I’m not a picky eater. I suppose some might point out the obvious one…meat. But that’s for ideological, environmental, and humane reasons…not simply “I can’t stand it”. Hmmm…I suppose I would also say that a lot of people like artificial things when I really prefer the taste of the real thing. No potatoes from a box or other-worldy colored punch for me. Who’s ever heard of a blue raspberry anyway?! Also, I’ve prepared and eaten fava beans fresh from the farm, and they just don’t do it for me. I’ll tolerate them, but I’d rather not have to. So, that’s it.

And that’s a wrap! Thanks everyone for your great answers! If you’d like to see other editions of the Monthly Mouthful, please visit the Monthly Mouthful page. Can’t wait to hear what you all have to say in February!

If you were not asked this month or missed the deadline, please respond in the comments with your own answer to the question. And if you’d like to be included in future Monthly Mouthfuls, please e-mail us at chewonthatblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

hahaha..that was a fun read indeed! get to know the qualms of people! for me, I think it’s Broccoli and Artichokes!! god, i know they are healthy and all, but SERIOUSLY, NO!

JEP

I give this post an A+!! The one food that makes an appearance in way too many dishes & I REALLY dislike is the onion:( I have a sensitive radar system that can detect those little boogers a mile away:)

http://www.sweetsbysarah.blogspot.com Sarah

That is good. It is always nice to read about other peoples strange sides. For me, it is popcorn. The smell of popcorn makes me gag…living in my dorm at college was pure torture!

http://www.blogsmonroe.com/food/ LunaPierCook

Lobster. To me, it’s just an expensive way to eat melted butter. Bib, please!

http://www.sweetnicks.com Cate O’Malley

Jaden – you are too much.

Anna – if it’s any consolation, I, too, was a confirmed salmon-hater growing up. My mom, though, made this creamy risotto type dish with salmon, and that was the only way I’d eat it. Over the last few years though, I have branched out a bit, and now love a Smoked Salmon Dip recipe and a Smoked Salmon Pizza. That’s still as far as I’ll go. :)

http://www.recipe4living.com Hillary

I forgot to tell everyone my answer! I’m with JEP – Onions!

I’ll eat them but I definitely don’t prefer them – raw or cooked! They have such a pungent flavor that affects the rest of the dish in a way I absolutely despise.

http://www.greedygourmet.com Michelle

One thing I can’t stand is coffee. My mother made me taste teaspoons of black coffee when I was small and never again. I hate the stench when it is being brewed and when hubby drinks some, I refuse to kiss him for the rest of the day (okay, maybe after a few hours and if he brushed his teeth). Anything coffee-flavoured I’ll spit out without thinking twice. Ugh.

Kris

Chocolate…literally.

http://aloshaskitchen.blogspot.com melissa

you weird onion haters! ;P

this was a great post and actually reminded me of other things I don’t like very much at all, like cake.

really fun question and answers, can’t wait for next month!

JoJo

I know this is totally unAmerican, but I can’t stand Oreo cookies! To me they taste like cardboard with some disgusting white stuff in the middle that tastes like sugar-flavored lard. My friends think I am seriously deranged for this view.

Sherry

Okra! I can eat the pickled kind, but that slimy stewed stuff – GAG!!!

Julie

Greens! I can’t stand greens in any form be they collard, mustard, or turnip. Now I was raised in the South where greens are a staple at any event; a guaranteed down-south home-style dish. But I can’t eat them (and I hate the smell too)

Sandy

FRUITCAKE…. My Mother had it in he house over the holidays and every year insisted that my taste buds have changed and I should give it a try again..It’s all those little red, green and yellow chopped up sort of fruit that when I bite down on them make my jaws lock up…Then when I found out that they last from one Christmas to the next only to have the bow and nametag changed and sent to some other poor soul—–that did it !

http://RECIES4LIVING JACKIE WESTOVER

I have to agree with Sherry….OKRA!!! There is something very wrong with eating a veggie that is hairy…..YUCK!!!!

http://yahoo MiMi

No one mentioned hazel nut, I can’t even stand the smell of it! I’m not a big chocolate fan either.

http://www.recipe4living.com Hillary

These are all great responses! How could you not like hazelnut?! Haha just kidding. No judgment here! But oh, did I mention I hate onions? ;)

http://sososimple.blogspot.com gilli

HIllary what a diverse group…lots of fun reading the post
Good work
How can you not like onions?

JoJo

Okay, after rereading the posts, I must agree about the okra. I just moved to the south from Colorado and have had people try to convince me that this slimy mess is “good when it’s cooked right”. They’re insane! It, along with lutefisk (don’t ask), tastes like jellied snot! Why would you eat such a vile thing when there are so many wonderful foods out there? I guess to each his own taste.

MRS KAT

TO ALL
I AM WOMAN HEAR ME ROAR.
I WANT MY COFFEE HOT AND SWEET WITH LOTS AND LOTS OF HEAVY CREAM. IT WILL TAKE TONS OF CHOCOLATE TO SATISFY ME BUT 100 POUNDS MIGHT DO. SOUR DOUGH LOAF WITH A STICK OF BUTTER OR TWO. HAM AND CHEESE IN ANYTHING. MILK AND COOKIES WELL AIN’T THAT SWELL. APPLE,CHERRY,PUMPKIN,BERRY,LEMON,RASIN TOO. I LOVE FRUIT – IN PIE – DON’T YOU?
PUDDING, ICECREAM,WHIP CREAM BRING ON THE COW.
I HAVEN’T MET A CAKE THAT I WOULDN’T EAT. MORE ICING PLEASE.
PRETZILS, PRINGILS,CHEETOS WHERE’S THAT DIP?
CHEESE BURGERS AND FRIES WITH ONION RINGS ON THE SIDE.
VANILLA LATEE ONE TRIPLE SHOT TO GO. MUFFINS, BAGELS,CINNAMON ROLLS UMM UMM GOOD!
FRENCH TOAST,WAFFLES – GOT SYRUP.
I AM WOMAN HEAR ME ROAR.
NOW IF I COULD ONLY FIT OUT THIS DOOR.

godiva240

JEP and Hillary, I thought I was alone in this dislike, ONIONS!!! They truly make me sick. I also can see/smell/sense them a mile, two miles away. Hard eating in restaurants.

Rose

Funny to read about all these things — I thought I was the only one who didn’t like chocolate — LOL! (I like it fine as a candy bar with other stuff in it, or brownies, or hot chocolate, but cake, cookies, ice cream, or just plain — no thanks!) There are a few random things I don’t like, but most of all, I can’t stand anything artificial — especially sweeteners — blech!! There’s not a single one without a yucky aftertaste — even Splenda, though it’s not as bad as the others. Aspartame makes me gag!

And I also don’t like what most people call “cake,” but let me qualify — I just don’t like store-bought or from-a-box cakes. Homemade cakes, like apple, pineapple upside down, poppyseed, etc. – yum! Cheesecake is one of my favorite things ever! But those hideous sheet cakes with sugar frosting are so bad, I can barely gag down a few bites just to be polite at a party…. It’s like my whole body rebells — “noooo! What are you doing feeding me this complete and utter junk??” :-)